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Only two ed her into a nearby souvenir shop, shoving people aside in his haste to enter

"I&039;m so sorry, ma&039;am," Grace said "You, too, sir" To Darius, she deleam in his ice-blue eyes ht," he said "You were being followed" He glanced over his shoulder "You still are"

"What!" she gasped, just as he pinned her against a rack of T-shirts She&039;d felt nopresence today, felt no watchful eyes on her back

"I would have noticed sooner," he said wryly, keeping his gaze trained on the store , "but my mind was not where it should have been"

"What should we do? Who is it?"

"A hu some type of coat, yet the day is warm"

Grace tried to peek over Darius&039;s shoulder, but it proved too broad and too high "Can he see us?"

"No, but he&039;s waiting outside this shop"

"Let&039;s go out the back He&039;ll never know, and we can-"

"No" Darius skiave a flick of his wrists, and plucked out two daggers The thickness of his hands and forearms kept the blades concealed froripped each jeweled weapon tightly "I wish to have a conversation with the asp in response

Good Lord There ht be a bloodbath this day

"You can&039;t kill anyone," she whispered fiercely Her gaze darted around wildly Tourists were staring at the&039;s entertainment "Please," she added more quietly, "put the knives away before someone notices the

"You don&039;t understand This-"

"No, Grace" He pinned her with a glare " You don&039;t understand Purchase so Now"

Too nervous to care what she bought, Grace shakily lifted a plastic replica of the Eripped the bag and walked with Darius to the door Her sto to the s "Use the tip as a weapon if you ulped I should have bought a snow globeShe didn&039;tMace; that was a spray, for God&039;s sake But using a , the centerpiece of Manhattan, to blind a huht attendant on extended leave , she thought dazedly I do not jab people

Darius must have sensed her unease because he stopped just before they stepped outside Facing her, he said, "I would leave you here if I could, but the binding spell does not per a conversation with this person really isn&039;t necessary" Even to her own ears, she sounded timid, and she winced She didn&039;t want Darius injured or in trouble with the law "I&039;ve seen enough h books to know that sometimes the safest course of action is to retreat"

"And so one"

"When I asked you to help er"

His features softened at her adht have information about your brother He could be the one who followed hile, the one who locked hio?"

"No," she said quietly Then more firmly, "No"

"I will be safe And so will you"

"Let&039;s use violence as a last resort, though Okay?"

A long, protracted silence enveloped them "As you wish," he said reluctantly "In return for that concession, I want you to stay behind ive you pere to link her fingers through his, she followed hian stalking forward At first she thought Darius meant to lead their tail to a private ally, but her warrior didn&039;t even try to pretend ignorance He approached thein front of a storepretending to look inside Attheir reflections, the asped and jolted intofrom them as fast as his booted feet could carry him

"Run, Grace," Darius called over his shoulder, as he, too, started running

An invisible force wrenched her behind Darius, forcing her body into action Her feet barely touched the ground as she flew, literally flew, after hih traffic lights and around cars, past people and over corunts and surprised screa with the sound of her own panting Was that a police siren? Air burned her lungs She clutched the plastic E as they ran on and on

If this kept up, she just ht be a luscious size six by the end of the month

When Darius finally caet by the neck, quickly cutting off any screa only one hand, he lifted the man up and carried hi the flailing man fall onto his butt and scramble to the wall Darius crossed his ar him to make a move

Behind them, Grace huffed and puffed to a standstill, then hunched over, gasping for breath If she survived the day, she was going to treat herself and Alex to a triple dip hot fudge sundae Or perhaps a banana split Or laze Maybe all three She straightened and saw several ainst the brownstone wall Their clothes were threadbare, and their faces dirty and scared Did they think they would have to face Darius next?

Forcing a s-she was not jabbing anyone today-and reached into her wallet She withdrew several bills At the sight of cash, the alleytheo away and keep this "their little secret" I&039;ht, an unexpected wave of excite in Aspen hadn&039;t excited her Paragliding in Mexico hadn&039;t excited her Most likely what she felt so intently was fear Any second she expected the police to show up and haul her and Darius away

"I&039;ll scream"

The threat came as the ed up A sheen of sweat glistened on his neck and face, but his expression did not portray a hint of weakness "Are you a woman, then?" he said "First you hide in the shadows, and when you are caught, you screale hand on rabbed hi his wrists in a crisscross and pressing his knives subtly into the h to break the skin, but enough to sting

That&039;s when Grace received her first good look at thewhile "Patrick?" she said when she finally found her voice This man worked with her brother; he&039;d even escorted her to the boat, and had engaged her in several conversations about her fa me?"

Silence

"Answer her questions," Darius demanded When Patrick still refused to speak, Darius increased the pressure of the blades,blood

"You won&039;t kill ht I won&039;t kill you Not with blades, at least" Darius dropped his weapons and wrapped his hands around theher I swear," Patrick sputtered, his face slowly fading fro his slanced from Darius to Patrick, froetting what they wanted, but she knew Darius wasn&039;t trying to intile qual, and I do not like liars," Darius said, his voice so bored he could have been co habits of flies But then his eyes slitted and his voice deepened, no longer dripping with boredonize you You are the one who touched Grace while she was sleeping"

Patrick&039;s eyes nearly bugged out of his head "No, no," he gasped, struggling to loosen Darius&039;s grip "I didn&039;t"

"I watched you do it," he said, his teeth bared

Were those fangs? She shivered as she stared at the long, sharp incisors Then their words sank into her brain "He touchedon her hips To Patrick, she ground out, "Which part of nashed in fury

"You couldn&039;t have watched me," Patrick said to Darius "You weren&039;t on the boat"

No, he hadn&039;t been on the boat, but then, Darius hadn&039;t needed to be He&039;d used his medallion on her like he&039;d done to Alex, she realized, not liking that he&039;d seen her and she hadn&039;t known

Patrick led sound, and his battle for freedos flailed, and his hands slashed

"Were we in my home," Darius said, "I would have your hands removed for such an offense"

"I didn&039;t hurt her," Patrick squeaked "You know I didn&039;t hurt her"

"Wrong again," Darius said A flash of green scales pulsed over his skin "You touched my woman Mine For that alone I want to kill you"